These are fighting words: American Nightmare—the beloved hardcore band who called it quits in 2004, reunited for a few gigs in 2011, and as of today, are back with their first new full-length record in 15 years—is the best hardcore band to ever come out of Boston. (Perhaps tied with Boston Strangler? It’s a short list.)

Let’s back track, shall we? So, AN formed in Beantown in 1998 and had a solid six-year run (in hardcore, that can be geriatric). When they broke up the first time, frontman Wes Eisold went on to form Some Girls and Cold Cave, freezing our warm punk hearts with inventive, synth-y cold-wave (pun very much intended).

Now, they’re back and Eisold shared the following statement:

“In making this record we had one goal: To make a hardcore punk album that was true to American Nightmare, who we were then and who we are now. No filler, just existential poetic venom. This is ground zero, a new life for the band...

This is a new start, it really is. We are now in the band we always wanted American Nightmare to be with the lineup, the songs, and the name back. It feels full circle in the sound of the music referenced earlier, but it also feels complete in that we took the reigns of the band and its past and made a new American Nightmare album … and now we are ready to move forward with it.”

Advertisement

American Nightmare won’t drop until February 16, but you’ll want to check out album opener/total ripper “The World Is Blue” above.